A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK. The fame of the Richmond River dis trict has spread, and justly so, through out the length and breadth of Australia. No district in the continent has made such rapid strides of late years, particu larly in the dairying industry, and from a comparatively obscure position the Richmond has in a decade sprung to the head of the butter-producing districts of at least New South Wales, if not the Commonwealth. This result is directly attributable to the rich pastures and mag nificent soil of a land favoured beyond all others in the Commonwealth, and to the fact th'at these conditions are not confined to a narrow belt of country or along river frontages, but spread almost throughout the entire country. A few figures will, perhaps, more forcibly illus trate the progress made than a column of literature. In kjoo the number of dairies in the district totalled 1337 and the cattle 37,000. At the present time there are 1956 dairies and 100,000 head of cattle, an increase...

CATTLE UNDER DOMESTI CATION. ? :--\;i' :{ The influence of civilisation; upon man is chronicled, in almost every, historical record ; but the influence of , civilisation ',*? upon the bovine race is more obscure, and has not,, been taken cognisance of, perhaps, so much as it deserves. With the exception of Darwin and Lowe, and a few lesser lights, no pointed reference is made to the' influence of domestication on cattle: Even these great scientific authorities iowingj prooaoiy, to tneir lacK of .experience) have stated very little in their writings ? on the subject of cattle, that could be utilised as a guid.e to. breed- ers. It is very, 'questionable indeed if many, .of . our -.best, cattle- breeders are- at all 'conversant, \yith, jthe writings of- Par-;, wuv/ipri Lowe pr'arlyyuchCaiithority.iuKeyf depend solely W their observations, the result of ,lqng|practical experience.1. Yet, there are/' many-' things;5\vhicrP are daily observed by practical v men \yhich_, they cannot' expla...

THE BURRAJAA ESTATE. j? On Tuesday, 22nd instant, Messrs. A. A. Piggin and Company, Auctioneers, of Corowa, in conjunction with R. H. Smyth and Company, will offer at auction the above famous estate of 13,500 acres, in 27 lots, from 250 acres upwards. The ? terms are exceptionally 'easy, and it is I not likely that any of the lots will re- 1 main on hand. The sale takes place at *V I* Jensen's Royal Hotel, Corowa. ' \$'

DOGS FOR THE COUNTRY. (Written for ' The Farmer and Settler.'') By J. Grant. In addition ' to the Irishman already touched upon, there are also several others of the terrier family, between which there is little if anything to choose in point of usefulness. These are the Scottish, the Fox, and ' the Airedale. * ? * The firstnamed has by his courage and endurance gained for himself the grim, but proud, title of 'Diehard,' by which nariiei she dsT well Ck'nbwriO J ^Ii? mis 'own country it was once the custom to test a uug a ijurtixiy uy iJim~iug iiuu ill u cask along with a badger. We have no badgers in Australia, although badger hair shaving brushes are ? common enough. The animal is himself a fierce and desperate fighter, and, to slightly vary a well-known line of Adam Lindsay Gordon's, will 'while life is in him, fight and bleed' — and that to the death. The battle can never be a drawn one. There is. no escape from the cask, and the sur vivor can only preserve his life at the cost ...

THE MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM. The 'peculiarities' of land agents and their methods, as exposed by the Lands Commission, and the evolution of the political land agent as a recognised feature of lands administration, is not altogether new, as the above cartoon from the old-time 'Tribune' (Sydney), of November 27th, 1SS5, indicates. It is noss'ibln that a Lands Commission at that time might have had a very beneficial effect on the welfare of settlement, then being established under the 18S4 Act. Of course, settlers then had no organisation to fight their battles, and opposition to monopolistic tactics was necessarily very spasmodic. Ministers experienced no difficulties in finding lands for settlement, and the public were content, so long as the lands revenue provided sufficient to cater for the requirements of the city. So the Parliamentary ag'ents of the day had unchecked careers, and no doubt made the most of their opportunity — or what at that time was considered a very fair levy on...

OLLA PODRIDA. (Political and Otherwise.; By Cypher. Brer Rabbit in a New Character. Throw up your hats, O ye people ! Rejoice, and be glad ! A discovery has been made, in comparison with which the discoveries of Layard and other archaeolo gists, in Assyria and Egypt, pale into insignificance. The sapient Member for Lcichhardt declares that the rabbit is 'a providential animal !'! The Sydney Lab or Council, which can hardly be said to have any affinity with that thoughtful re former, nevertheless agrees with him on that point, and holds that the pest should be preserved, because it provides work for trappers, and food for the poor. Such sapience and long-sightedness is truly wonderful ! That there may be 'no possible, prob able, shadow of doubt'; on the point, our revered Lands Department, whose wisdom and infallibility no one doubts, declares the rabbit a productive asset ! Think of it, 'in silence and alone' — otherwise your audible reflections might be a bad example to the rising ...

Telephone 4236. ' CD* farmer $ Settler,' 1 THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF The Farmers' and Settlers' Association of N.S.W. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. Price: One Penny. 5/- per Annum, post free The Editor, Mr. T. I. Campbell, General Secretary of tbe Association, will be glad to receive contributions from all who have anything to write about which may be of interest or value to the farmer and settler. It will be very convenient if all matter intended for publication is written upon one side of the paper only, and as briefly and as much to the point as possible. All matter should reach the Editor on or before the Saturday in euoh week for publication on the Wednesday following. While 'Tub Farmer and Settler' will prove a very valuable means of communication between the Execu tive Officers, the 160 odd Branch Secretaries, and the whole of the Members, the aid of every one is requisi tioned to render perfect the enterprise now entered upon. Items of intelligence, experiences, suggestions, aneo y dote...

THE DANYSZ FUND. . A meeting of the Rabbit Fund Commit tee was held on Thursday. Mr. W. Ali son occupied the. chair. Important cor respondence from Messrs. Dalgety and Co., London, who are carrying on the negotiations with Dr. Danvsz, was read. It was reported by the hon. treasurer that ,£11,073 7s- 6d. was already in hand or definitely promised. A full meeting of the Council will be held this week, when details and definite proposals from Dr. Danysz will be brought forward. Messrs. E. Cahill and Co., auctioneers, of Narromine, report having sold 30,000 sheep during the past three weeks. Forty stud cows belonging to Mr. Mar tell's Dandaloo station brought ,£15 per head. The purchaser was Mr. Austin, of ? Wambiana. The proposal to establish a butter fac tory in Deniliquin is meeting with very gratifying- support. Already promises have been made to take up 800 shares, and when 1000 are applied for the com pany will be formed. Sir Samuel McCaughey has had a re cord shearing at Goolgumb...

SPECIAL NOTICE. To Branches of the Association. Now that our paper is an established fact, and the Association has an official organ directly under the control of the Executive Council, circulating each week throug-hout the State, we purpose using: the columns of the 'Fanner and Settler' in making- official communications to branches, thereby stimulating interest in branch meetings, and materially assist ing branch secretaries in keeping mat ters of importance well under the notice of members and also of settlers generally. We desire to specially briner under no tice that the Executive Council will meet in Sydney on April gth, and as the busi ness under consideration will be the pre paration of annual report and ensuing Conference arrangements, we would ask branch secretaries to arrange their meet ings for early dates, so that full con sideration may be given to any matters they desire to have brought before the Executive Council for inclusion in Con ference business paper. . . Bran...

THE RABBIT INVASION AND THE REMEDY. THE BANE AND THE ANTIDOTE. By L.C. 'The time has come,' the Walrus said, 'To talk of many things — 'Of .... 'Of cabbages and kings.' ? The topic uppermost in the mind of the country settler at the present time comes very much under this' heading, in this dry interval. We read from day to day of thousands of rabbits being poisoned, or trapped at the water tanks. In other dis tricts where the poison cart is being- used the very air is foetid with the stench of the decaying bunny. A little later in the season the railway sheds will be packed to the uttermost with the carcasses, in tran sit to the Metropolis; but all the time, his nibs, the rodent pest, call it what you will, is advancing all along the line, like the Victorious Jap invading Manchuria, ever causing the weary landholder to twist in his bed at night, thinking out plans to overpower the enemy. Just here I might remark, however, that landholders, like others of the mammalian tribe, are not...

COMBINED MEETING AT GLEN INNES. A conference, consisting, of the mem bers of the Glen Innes Pastures Protec tion Board and representatives of the various branches of the Farmers' and Set tlers' Association throughout the districts of Glen Innes, Armidale, and lnverell, has been held' in the Council Chambers. It was resolved to strongly urge on the Minister for Lands to bring forward some scheme of leasing or otherwise disposing of waste Crown lands, as it was impos sible to cope with the pesf^so long as the Government hold lands in'-their hands which are only breeding grounds for noxi ous- animals and weeds. Mr. J. W. Rose (Wellington Vale) said that the meeting marked the first step taken in the State to bring this vexed question to an issue. It was better to have the Crown lands occupied, if only at a peppercorn rental. Mr. John Wetherspoon thought private owners should defy the Government as to clearing any part of the public roads. Mr. A. A. Mcurant said he would like to Isee a ...

A STATE LAND BANK. The following- valuable contribution to this subject was recently read by Mr. G. Clout, senr., President of the Tumut Branch of the F. and S. Association : — This is looked upon as one of the most important measures that has ever come before the Legislature of this State, inas much as the progress and development of the colony is largely dependent on the facilities that exist for obtaining1 money to carry out the thousand and one im provements so necessary for that devel opment. Up to now the pastoralist, the farmer and landholder generally have been entirely dependent on the banking and financial institutions of the State, and while admitting that the accommo dation thus afforded has been of infinitive service, yet the excessive cost of that accommodation has borne many of the less fortunate of our brethren to the ground, and bitter experience has taught us that in time of distress we have little to hope for from our financial institutions. Shylock-like, they wil...

WHITTON. Local Works— Shire Boundaries— Dr. Da- - nysz's Curse— Destructive Bush Fire. At the last meeting it was resolved to .appoint some one to roll up the wire and wire netting at the local cemetery that was burnt out recently, an'd at which a new. fence is to be erected. It was also resolved to send another letter of protest to the Local Government Areas Commission, protesting against the intended boundaries of the shires about Whitton, and which will divide the business interests of the residents of the Whitton district very seriously. The meeting. , decided . that it . was too late to protest against the action of the 'Government in trying to eradicate the rabbit pest by Dr: Danysz's methods of inoculation, and which will cause' a great er curse to the country than the bubonic , .plague. , ' The branch ' expressed sympathy with the Corowa Closer Settlement League, and expressed regret that delegates could not attend thp Conference; A bush- fife was started here on Tues day' a...

GRAIN ELEVATORS. The March number of 'Agricultu- ral Gazette' of New. South Wales, contains the first of a series of arti cles by Dr. Cobb on that vitally im portant subject to the wheat grower in New South Wales (we might say New South Wales (we might say Australia), viz., the grain elevator. Dr. Cobb is unquestionably the best Australian authority on the subject, and we strongly recommend all far mers interested in up-to-date meth ods to closely study the articles as they appear, as with the knowledge so gained we have no hesitation in saying that the way will be found to materially improve the position of the wheat farmer and also minimise the dangers of labor troubles so frequently threatened this season. Dr. Cobb's opening remarks must appeal to every farmer wno is so constituted as to look for improved methods of marketing his wheat, and we cannot do better than repro duce the realistic picture of present day Australian methods as describ ed by Dr. Cobb to bring home to the fa...